JE99
New member
I said a few weeks ago I was thinking about doing this, and Warchild suggested I return with pictures... so here I am 
I wanted a 2.5m long wooden desk for my new study, and concluded that I wasn't prepared to pay for one, nor could I actually fit it in the room. Instead, I bought two 1.2m long IKEA INGO dining tables, and spent a weekend applying Wilko medium oak wax.
They looked great, but there was a really annoying problem - right in the middle of the desk, where I wanted to sit, were two big table legs. Undeterred by the fact that I've never modded anything not made out of Lego, I decided to go for it and remove them.
That, however, left me with two problems:
1) The desk would not stand up without two of its eight supporting legs
2) Any mod needed to be reversible, or the desks would never leave the room without being destroyed
I knew I'd need something serious to take the strain, as a couple of bolts through the middle just wouldn't do the trick.
I figured the easiest way to do this was with steel, so I went all out and bought a 2 metre mild steel bar, at 5cm wide and 6mm thick with precut M8 holes. It was probably a bit over-spec'd for the job, but I figured I might as well do it properly. After all, at some point someone is probably going to lean on it and I'd rather not be regretting a few quid saving.
Also, it ensured that I could get the desks straight before everything was bolted together. Hmm, yeah, doesn't look quite straight.
Unfortunately, I then realised that either I or the retailer had screwed up (badum-tish). No way that was going to work unless I started trying to cut a new thread, or left the whole thing incredibly loose and wobbly.
So I bolted (oh yeah) over to Homebase before it closed, and grabbed these as an overpriced but ultimately more useful replacement. I have a feeling they were marketed as roofing bolts, but they were the right dimensions.
Then to my brand new drill, with which I took the lazy approach. I used a 7mm drill bit (the largest I had), and went straight through the carefully placed and clamped bar into the wood. It was no problem at all, straight through the wood - makes me even more glad I didn't rely on it for major structural integrity.
As I'd drilled 7mm holes and decided on M8 bolts, they were far too stiff to get in (ahem) without the drill, but they got really good purchase on the wood which makes me think it was probably a good idea in the end! It might take a reverse drilling if and when I decide to remove them, but for the moment I feel a bit more comfortable knowing that they won't slide around.
That just left the wingnuts, which I'm hoping should allow me to remove the bar easily if I need to in the future. Although you can't see it in normal operation, I think it looks pretty neat.
And then all I needed to was turn it up the right way and get my rig back online.
The good news is, it hasn't collapsed yet.
I wanted a 2.5m long wooden desk for my new study, and concluded that I wasn't prepared to pay for one, nor could I actually fit it in the room. Instead, I bought two 1.2m long IKEA INGO dining tables, and spent a weekend applying Wilko medium oak wax.
They looked great, but there was a really annoying problem - right in the middle of the desk, where I wanted to sit, were two big table legs. Undeterred by the fact that I've never modded anything not made out of Lego, I decided to go for it and remove them.
That, however, left me with two problems:
1) The desk would not stand up without two of its eight supporting legs
2) Any mod needed to be reversible, or the desks would never leave the room without being destroyed
I knew I'd need something serious to take the strain, as a couple of bolts through the middle just wouldn't do the trick.
I figured the easiest way to do this was with steel, so I went all out and bought a 2 metre mild steel bar, at 5cm wide and 6mm thick with precut M8 holes. It was probably a bit over-spec'd for the job, but I figured I might as well do it properly. After all, at some point someone is probably going to lean on it and I'd rather not be regretting a few quid saving.
Also, it ensured that I could get the desks straight before everything was bolted together. Hmm, yeah, doesn't look quite straight.
Unfortunately, I then realised that either I or the retailer had screwed up (badum-tish). No way that was going to work unless I started trying to cut a new thread, or left the whole thing incredibly loose and wobbly.
So I bolted (oh yeah) over to Homebase before it closed, and grabbed these as an overpriced but ultimately more useful replacement. I have a feeling they were marketed as roofing bolts, but they were the right dimensions.
Then to my brand new drill, with which I took the lazy approach. I used a 7mm drill bit (the largest I had), and went straight through the carefully placed and clamped bar into the wood. It was no problem at all, straight through the wood - makes me even more glad I didn't rely on it for major structural integrity.
As I'd drilled 7mm holes and decided on M8 bolts, they were far too stiff to get in (ahem) without the drill, but they got really good purchase on the wood which makes me think it was probably a good idea in the end! It might take a reverse drilling if and when I decide to remove them, but for the moment I feel a bit more comfortable knowing that they won't slide around.
That just left the wingnuts, which I'm hoping should allow me to remove the bar easily if I need to in the future. Although you can't see it in normal operation, I think it looks pretty neat.
And then all I needed to was turn it up the right way and get my rig back online.
The good news is, it hasn't collapsed yet.
